


Home is Where the Heart is

by saffrondawn



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-30
Updated: 2014-04-30
Packaged: 2018-01-21 10:20:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1547183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saffrondawn/pseuds/saffrondawn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jemma stared out the window that occupied one side of the empty loft. The furniture was covered with white sheets, the dishes in the cabinets were probably covered with dust and spider webs. The bed against the wall was perfectly made—Jemma’s insistence despite Grant’s protests that it would be unmade as soon as either of them got home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Home is Where the Heart is

Jemma stared out the window that occupied one side of the empty loft. The furniture was covered with white sheets, the dishes in the cabinets were probably covered with dust and spider webs. The bed against the wall was perfectly made—Jemma’s insistence despite Grant’s protests that it would be unmade as soon as either of them got home.

Home.

That was what they wanted the loft to be. It was for a little bit of time, but not now. SHIELD had fallen, HYDRA reigned, and Skye wouldn’t stop talking about how Ward shouldn’t have been trusted in the first place even though Jemma had heard it more than she wanted about how Skye would assess her SO’s naked chest.

Jemma was sure if she wanted to bury her nose into the sheets she could identify every single smell. The strong smell of pepperoni pizza when they had decided to forgo using the kitchen table and eat in bed while watching a horror film. She had gotten so scared that a slice with more sauce than should be allowed on a solitary piece had ended up on the comforter. Grant had laughed at her scare, paused the movie, and helped as they tore the bed apart to put it in the wash. After that, they would strip the bed bare before having pizza again.

She shook her head at the memory, and moved to sit underneath the window, her eyes trained at the door. She had been early on purpose, wanting to soak in the home they built before they became so involved in their work with SHIELD that their time apart was by far more than their time together. HYDRA was where they met, but SHIELD was what brought them together.

She never got the chance to ask Garrett how the organization had coordinated her and Grant’s assignments being the same, but Grant said no coordination was needed—she was brilliant all on her own. They kept their relationship a secret on the Bus. Jemma never mentioned Grant’s name to Fitz, and all he knew was that Jemma was seeing a guy, but they had broken up after a few months into the courtship. But they were strained in such confined quarters. Neither questioned the other’s allegiance to HYDRA and the mission, but they were something else. They wanted their loft back, their life together where Grant would listen to Jemma suggest installing jammers in the loft to make sure they didn’t carry in electronic bugs after a long day at the office, and she would allow him to clean the weapons that were scattered around the house on Sunday, and only Sunday, but it had to be right before football because she knew how much he loved to insult Tom Brady.

When she jumped from the Bus, her thought was to have Grant survive, so it could all work out. When he jumped after her, she knew she wanted off the Bus as soon as possible. Their commitment to each other had reached unprecedented ground, and the others would be suspicious as to why he would jump out of a plane. When she saw Garrett for the first time, he patted her on the back, and said, “He really loves you.” She wasn’t sure if he was talking about the plane or sleeping with May.

And he did. He made sure nothing was connected to her, and that he was the only suspect SHIELD would need to investigate. He didn’t give her up when Skye had shot him up with some disgusting drug, and was going to shoot him in the head. Skye didn’t suspect a thing when she returned saying that Ward got away. And that’s when Jemma knew she had to leave. He had left her there by herself, and leaving now before she was far too deep that even Deathlok couldn’t get her out wasn’t her way of demonstrating loyalty.

The door opened, and Grant walked in with a duffel bag. He shut the door quietly, and stopped in the middle of the loft. He slowly inspected everything before giving a sad smile. He sat down next to her, and wrapped his arms around her. She inhaled his scent, and she heard him do the same.

“Were you able to get out okay?” His voice was small, barely above a whisper.

“Yeah. They reviewed the lie detector tests. I had said I didn’t know why I was there, so they didn’t question why I was leaving.” She put her head on his shoulder, and stared at the bag. “You brought clean clothes.”

“Yeah, no tie ensemble. Jeans and a t-shirt.” Grant chuckled, “But I did enjoy different uses for your ties.” She lightly smacked his abdomen, making sure not to hit his broken ribs. “In all seriousness, they made you look different.”

“That was the point,” Jemma said, pulling the bag toward her, and pulling out its contents. He had grabbed their duffle they had created when they discovered they were on Coulson’s team. Sure enough, a pair of jeans and a faded London map black t-shirt were among the contents. “Has Garrett given you any certainty that we could stay together?”

“Yeah,” he placed a kiss on her temple before standing. “As long as we don’t run off and get married.”

Jemma stood as well, the clothing in her arms, “He doesn’t know it’s too late for that.”

Grant broke out into a grin, “I thought I would keep that to myself a little longer.” He bent a little, and kissed her. She missed him more than she would have wanted to admit a few months ago. But SHIELD had fallen and HYDRA took over, and for the first time since entering the Bus, they knew they had a chance of never separating.

She broke the kiss with a groan, “I have to change, so we can leave.”

“I wanna give this to you again, Jem.”

She kissed his cheek, “I know. When this is all over, we can go so far off the grid that no one will find us, and we can have this again. Anywhere. I just need you.”

“I need you, too.”


End file.
